Avril Lavigne doesn’t understand what racism is

It's not that complicated

Canadian pop “star” Avril Lavigne has responded to accusations of racism in the music video for her new single, “Hello Kitty” with a response as lazy as the video itself.

“RACIST??? LOLOLOL!!!” she tweeted.

“I love Japanese culture and I spend half of my time in Japan. I flew to Tokyo to shoot this video specifically for my Japanese fans, WITH my Japanese label, Japanese choreographers AND a Japanese director IN Japan.”

RACIST??? LOLOLOL!!! I love Japanese culture and I spend half of my time in Japan. I flew to Tokyo to shoot this video…

If you’ve had the good sense to not watch said video, it stars Lavigne prancing about in a frilly skirt with cupcakes while referencing cutesy stereotypes of Japanese culture. Highlights include pretending to play a guitar with a “Tokyo” sticker on it, clapping like a toddler on amphetamines when presented with sushi and saying “kawaii” a few times just in case the theme wasn’t apparent to you.

Perhaps most offensively, throughout the video Lavigne is followed around by four silent, robot-like back-up dancers that are similar to Gwen Stefani’s (also racist) Harajuku Girls but 10 years later and with even less personality.

For all the people who were quick to say, “hey, that’s pretty racist,” others said Lavigne was merely paying homage to a country she likes and that is a major market for her work. Her own reaction, emphasizing that the video was produced and shot in Japan, suggests that she feels the same way.

These reactions show something people often miss. Racism is not just pointing at a minority and calling them a bad name. It’s also, importantly, cultural norms and ideas that oppress racialized persons in a systemic fashion.

You know, like presenting Japanese women as passive, adorable background decoration for a wealthy North American pop singer. That sort of thing.

Whether you personally were offended by Lavigne’s video has no bearing on how lazily racist it is. And even if we don’t all want to call it racist, we can all agree it’s an awful song.